Saving jungle from destruction in the Philippines
Donation protected
Dear readers,
My name is Hinrich Paulsen and I am co-founder and senior consultant of the companies mundialis and terrestris from Bonn, Germany, which deal with the analysis of satellite data and the programming of spatial information systems, respectively. For the last 18 months we have been working on the HERMOSA project, which is about supporting ecosystem restoration with geographic information systems and the analysis of satellite images.
In this context, I met Datu Lanelio Sangcoan , who heads the Higa-onon tribe in the Philippines, at a biodiversity conference at the end of October 2020. There are about 50 clans living in and from the jungle in an area of approximately 30,000 hectares. This area is a biodiversity hotspot, but unfortunately this forest is in danger of being destroyed by companies that want to engage in mining, timber production or establish oil palm or cocoa plantations. Due to poverty and uneducation, the companies can buy the land for 500 US dollars per hectare, which is an enormous amount of money for the local population. For a mining company that extracts metals for the world market, this is a ridiculously low price.
The consequences are also easy to name: Loss of habitat, livelihood, culture and tradition of the people who have settled there for hundreds of years, if not longer.
As I have been working intensively on the issue of ecosystem restoration for almost 4 years and know how expensive the measures are and how incomplete the results usually turn out to be, I would like to contribute with this campaign so that Datu and his tribe can buy the land they call 'sacred forest' themselves, so that they do not lose their livelihood to faceless companies that are absolutely indifferent to the fate of the local population.
Considering that the restoration of one hectare costs between 2,000 and 5,000 US dollars, I do not understand why the forest, which is so important in terms of the livelihood of the local population, biodiversity and climate protection, cannot be preserved for a fraction of the cost that would otherwise be incurred, especially since there are people who can and want to take care of it. Think of the saying: "A stitch in time saves nine!"
Datu has already launched a crowdfunding campaign , which I would like to support with this campaign. Every cent contributed here goes one-to-one to Datu. And time is running out! Anyone who looks at the pictures of the destruction can appreciate that the forest will be lost completely once the diggers and circular saws are in action. And they are already there, coming close to the part of the forest that is considered holy by the tribe. Check out Datus most recent video here:
Datu explaining the plight of his tribe
As I have been communicating with Datu almost every day for the last 6 weeks, I understand his desperation and fear to preserve his forest for future generations, because his tribe is not financially able to defend itself against the companies. In this respect, dear readers, I would be enormously grateful if you would support this campaign with money. Spreading the word also helps, of course, and I thank you for that, too.
Sincerely,
Hinrich
Bonn December 2020
My name is Hinrich Paulsen and I am co-founder and senior consultant of the companies mundialis and terrestris from Bonn, Germany, which deal with the analysis of satellite data and the programming of spatial information systems, respectively. For the last 18 months we have been working on the HERMOSA project, which is about supporting ecosystem restoration with geographic information systems and the analysis of satellite images.
In this context, I met Datu Lanelio Sangcoan , who heads the Higa-onon tribe in the Philippines, at a biodiversity conference at the end of October 2020. There are about 50 clans living in and from the jungle in an area of approximately 30,000 hectares. This area is a biodiversity hotspot, but unfortunately this forest is in danger of being destroyed by companies that want to engage in mining, timber production or establish oil palm or cocoa plantations. Due to poverty and uneducation, the companies can buy the land for 500 US dollars per hectare, which is an enormous amount of money for the local population. For a mining company that extracts metals for the world market, this is a ridiculously low price.
The consequences are also easy to name: Loss of habitat, livelihood, culture and tradition of the people who have settled there for hundreds of years, if not longer.
As I have been working intensively on the issue of ecosystem restoration for almost 4 years and know how expensive the measures are and how incomplete the results usually turn out to be, I would like to contribute with this campaign so that Datu and his tribe can buy the land they call 'sacred forest' themselves, so that they do not lose their livelihood to faceless companies that are absolutely indifferent to the fate of the local population.
Considering that the restoration of one hectare costs between 2,000 and 5,000 US dollars, I do not understand why the forest, which is so important in terms of the livelihood of the local population, biodiversity and climate protection, cannot be preserved for a fraction of the cost that would otherwise be incurred, especially since there are people who can and want to take care of it. Think of the saying: "A stitch in time saves nine!"
Datu has already launched a crowdfunding campaign , which I would like to support with this campaign. Every cent contributed here goes one-to-one to Datu. And time is running out! Anyone who looks at the pictures of the destruction can appreciate that the forest will be lost completely once the diggers and circular saws are in action. And they are already there, coming close to the part of the forest that is considered holy by the tribe. Check out Datus most recent video here:
Datu explaining the plight of his tribe
As I have been communicating with Datu almost every day for the last 6 weeks, I understand his desperation and fear to preserve his forest for future generations, because his tribe is not financially able to defend itself against the companies. In this respect, dear readers, I would be enormously grateful if you would support this campaign with money. Spreading the word also helps, of course, and I thank you for that, too.
Sincerely,
Hinrich
Bonn December 2020
Organizer
Hinrich Paulsen
Organizer
Bonn
